Coworking spaces such as SOHO 3Q WuJiaoChang are places that buzz with energy. Where the unexpected forms part of your daily agenda. For China?s millennials, the country?s largest demographic by far, they are work environments for new encounters ? places where you can meet interesting people and create new things together. It is a way to come into contact with other talented people, mavericks, movers, and doers, who could perhaps become your next coworkers or business partners. Our transformation of a Shanghai department store from the 1980s makes a stimulating contribution to this subject ? and with it, to the future of the work environment. The client commissioning this project was SOHO China, the country?s largest private real estate developer, which has already made a name for itself with its spectacular construction projects. Photograph by Sui Sicong, CreatAR Image
The heart of the building – the campus. In Wujiaochang, a trendy district with numerous shopping malls near Shanghai University, the opportunity arose to transform a disused department store with 14,000 square meters and five levels into this kind of dynamic workspace. Via the two-level campus on the ground floor, the energy of the coworking space connects with the pulse of the city. The campus forms the centerpiece of the building: a two-level community hub designed for business talks, presentations, formal and spontaneous meetings, and a place to have coffee. A new spiral staircase makes a bold sculp...